EcoWaste Coalition is a public interest network of community, church, school, environmental and health groups pursuing sustainable solutions
to waste, climate change and chemical issues facing the Philippines and the world.

As the Filipino nation prepares to honor
the dead, an environmental watchdog cited three major cemeteries in Metro
Manila for adopting eco-measures to protect the trees, as well as reduce
trash.

The EcoWaste Coalition lauded the Manila Memorial Park (MMP) in Parañaque City
for prohibiting the nailing of commercial and public service announcements on
trees, an environmental offense that drew the ire of the group last Undas.

The group likewise cited the Manila North and South Cemeteries for doing away
with the yearly rite of hanging banderitas made of new single-use plastic bags
at the park entrance, a wasteful practice that also spoils the green scenery.

Last year, the group gave the MMP a “Pako Award” to protest the widespread
nailing of tarp advertisements from popular beverage and fastfood brands on helpless
trees.

Manila Memorial Park Manager Lamberto Peña told the EcoWaste Coalition
yesterday that they have duly notified the concessionaires about the no-nailing
policy, saying that “nailing hurts the trees” and stressing that “we need to
care for and preserve Mother Nature.”

“Green kudos to the MMP for enforcing such a vital eco-measure that will
protect trees from getting damaged and injured,” said Aileen Lucero,
Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

Running priest Farther Robert Reyes, who chairs the Save the Trees National
Coalition, also welcomed MMP’s no-nailing on trees policy.

“They pierced His hands and feet with nails jeering and laughing as they
did. Whenever we hurt people, we crucify Him once more. Whenever we
drive a nail into trees, don’t we show the same lovelessness and insensitivity
as those who crucified and killed Jesus. Mabuhay ang Manila Memorial
Park,” said Father Reyes in a text message sent through the EcoWaste Coalition.

Reacting to the non-use of banderitas, Lucero noted that “Mr. Daniel Tan and
Mr. Rafael Mendez, administrators of the Manila North and South
Cemeteries, made the right decision to keep the sky clear of distractive and
wasteful buntings.”

“The plastic buntings hide and spoil the splendid green scenery. Now,
cemetery visitors will walk through a lush canopy of trees unblemished by
synthetic decors that only add to post-Undas garbage,” she added.

The EcoWaste Coalition expressed hope that all cemeteries will replicate the
eco-measures adopted by the MMP and the Manila North and South Cemeteries, and
exert efforts to rectify practices that harm and pollute the surroundings.

The group last Tuesday organized an event, in collaboration with the Manila
North Cemetery Administration and the Miss Earth Foundation,
to encourage the general public to observe the Undas in an
eco-friendly manner that is respectful to the dead, as well as to the
environment.

28 October 2014

The EcoWaste Coalition, in collaboration with the Manila North Cemetery Administration, put up eco-reminders encouraging cemetery visitors to prevent and reduce garbage and pollution as a sign of respect for the dead as the nation marks All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on November 1 and 2.

A few days before the commemoration
of the time-honored Filipino “Undas” tradition, green groups today
implore the public to show genuine respect for our departed loved ones
by trashing wasteful and toxic habits.

Through a
Zumba-inspired event cast by “Zombasura” and colorful actors/dancers in
pig masks held at the Manila North Cemetery, EcoWaste Coalition,
together with Miss Earth Beauties Jamie Herrell (Miss Philippines Earth
2014), Diane Querrer (Miss Philippines Earth Air), Maria Bencelle
Bianzon (Miss Philippines Earth Runner-up); MALAYA-Cavite;
representatives from the government of the City of Manila; Manila North
Cemetery Administration; Tzu Chi Foundation, and other civil society
groups from Malabon, danced to reverberate the call for a zero waste and
toxics-free “Undas”.

“As part of our yearly campaign
for waste- and pollution-free Undas celebrations, we took on the Zumba
craze to remind our fellow cemetery goers to keep in mind the
“Cemetiquette” or cemetery etiquette and do away with “Zombasura” habits
as a way of showing deep and genuine respect for our departed kindred
and friends. We ask the public to please don't turn the cemetery into a
pigsty,” expressed Christina Vergara, Zero Waste Program Officer of
EcoWaste Coalition.

To highlight the appeal to observe
the “Cemetiquette” and trash “Zombasura” habits, dancers in pig masks
do the Zumba, at the background were placards and a banner with such
calls as “Sementeryo ay Irespeto; Huwag kang Baboy!” (Respect the
cemetery; Don’t be like pigs) and “Zombasura Huwag Tularan!” (Don’t be
like Zombasura).

According to the group, the
“Cemetiquette” aims to “promote environmental responsibility and
commonsensical good manners in the cemeteries and draw attention to
practices that show disrespect for the dead, as well as for the living.”

“Zombasura”, the “basura” or garbage monster, on the
other hand is a creative depiction of “pig-like” attitude and practices
of “wallowing in filth and mud”, the group’s figurative way of saying
wasteful and toxic attitude and practices.

For her
part, Miss Philippines Earth 2014, Jamie Herrell, stressed that “garbage
and anything that can make our surroundings ugly should have no place
in the Undas celebration. We join the EcoWaste Coalition in imploring
the public to keep cemeteries clean and safe as we remember our departed
dear ones.”

In the “Cemetiquette”, the group listed
down ten practical and sensible recommendations that the public can and
should adopt as we celebrate a long-revered tradition that is “Undas”:

1. Choose lead-free candles that do not yield
black fumes or soot. Set alight a limited number of candles to reduce
heat and pollution. Be cautious so as not to let candle fire touch
plastic receptacles or holders.

2. Offer local
fresh flowers, not plastic ones, or consider bringing potted plants and
flowers instead. Avoid wrapping floral or plant offerings in plastic,
which will sooner or later end up as trash.

3.
Bring your own water jug to avoid purchasing bottled water. Discarded
plastic bottles add up to the country’s garbage problem. Plastic
bottles, which are petrochemical products, also require lots of oil and
chemicals to manufacture. Please watch The Story of Bottled Water to
find out why: http://storyofstuff.org/bottledwater/

5. For food and beverage, buy and bring
only what you can consume to avoid spoilage or wastage. Bring bayong or
other reusable bags to carry your stuff and purchases, and refuse
plastic bags and wrappers from vendors.

6. Cut
your waste size by not creating trash in the first place such as by
purchasing products with the least amount of packaging and avoiding
single-use plastic disposables.

7. Don’t litter,
dump or burn trash in the cemetery. Do not throw cigarette butts, candy
wrappers, discarded packaging, fruit peels, and the likes on the
ground. Remember to leave the resting place of your loved ones
litter-free.

8. Put your discards into the
recycling bins if available. Better still, bring your own discards bags
and bring them home for sorting, reusing, recycling or composting.

9.
Relieve yourself only in the proper place where one should. Keep
the urinal or toilet bowl clean as a courtesy to the next user. Do not
defecate or urinate in public places.

10. Refrain
from smoking in the cemetery. Show consideration for the children, the
elderly, pregnant women and others around you who may be saddled with
respiratory and heart ailments.

27 October 2014

Some of
the scariest consumer products that you may find, Halloween season or not, are
ironically sold in beauty shops offering cosmetics with no official market
authorization.

The EcoWaste Coalition, a toxics watchdog, aired this observation after
purchasing lipsticks contaminated with lead, a powerful neurotoxin, sold for
P28 to P35 each from Quiapo stores selling beauty and personal care products.

Using an X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) spectrometer, the group detected lead in five
lipsticks in the range of 2,204 parts
per million (ppm) to 2,487 ppm, way above the 20 ppm threshold limit for lead
under the ASEAN Cosmetics Directive.

“The ghastly lead content of these lipsticks should scare the hell out of all of
us,” said Aileen Lucero, Coordinator, EcoWaste Coalition.

“Women wearing such lipstick may ingest toxic lead over the course of the day.This will contribute to the build up of lead
in the body over time.As scientists
have not established a safe level for lead exposure, it’s essential that all unwarranted
exposures are avoided,” she warned.

The current science has determined no safe level for lead exposure with the
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention stating that “no safe blood
lead level has been identified.”

The five lipsticks found laden with lead as per XRF screening, include:

Lucero noted that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA)
of the Philippines had twice issued public health warnings in 2013 and 2014
against unregistered lipsticks laced with lead, including five Monaliza
lipsticks and 13 Baolishi lipsticks.

She also noted that Bulgarian, Croatian and Czech health authorities have banned
the marketing of certain Baolishi lipsticks due to excessive amounts of cadmium
and lead.

Lead, a toxic chemical that has no vital use for the human body, may come from the
lipstick ingredients that are contaminated with lead, or from the lipstick pigments
that contain lead, she pointed out.

According to the US-based Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, “pregnant
women are especially vulnerable because lead crosses the placenta and may enter
the fetal brain, and has also been linked to miscarriage, and pre-adolescents
are also at risk as lead has been linked to a delay in the onset of puberty in
girls, and the development of testes in boys.”

“Kids typically apply cosmetics such as face paint and lipstick as part of
their Halloween costumes.It’s crucial
that such products are duly registered with the FDA and proven safe from lead
and other bacterial or chemical contaminants that can badly affect children’s
health ,” Lucero insisted. As per advice
by the FDA, consumers can go to the agency’s website (www.fda.gov.ph) to check if
a cosmetic product is duly authorized to be offered for sale in the market.

Consumers should carefully read the product labels, which should have the
following required information by the FDA written in English: a) product name,
b) ingredients, c) net content, d) instruction on the use of the products, e)
batch number, f) special precautions if any, and g) country of
manufacture/importer.

26 October 2014

The
EcoWaste Coalition, a toxics watchdog, advises consumers to demand information
on chemicals in products as toy stores load the shelves with spooky
merchandises for the Halloween celebration.

“It’s good to exercise precaution when buying such items as toy makers and
sellers cash in on the growing popularity of Halloween in some sections of the
society, particularly among urban children,” said Thony Dizon, Coordinator,
EcoWaste Coalition’s Project Protect.

“It’s totally okay to be extra choosy and nosy if this will protect your child
from being exposed to substances that may put her or his health at risk,” he
said.

As part of the group’s ongoing campaign for “Kid Safe Toys for Zero Harm and
Zero Waste,” the group obtained various Halloween products worth P35 to P259.50
each from 9 stores in Baclaran, Divisoria and
Ermita, Manila, as well as in Caloocan and Quezon Cities.

The group screened the items for toxic substances with the help of a portable
X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF) device.

Among the items screened were creepers, headbands, masks, shockers, thrillers,
weapons, as well as decors and goody baskets.

Out of 50 samples, 21 were found to contain toxic metals such as lead above
levels of concern. For instance, toxic lead up to 43,100 parts per
million (ppm) was detected in 12 of the samples.

Lead is a universally recognized poison that has no known safe level in
children’s blood. Childhood lead exposure is associated with reduced IQ,
slowed body growth, attention or behavior problems and
failure at school, among other issues.

The top five items that showed the highest levels of total lead content
include:

1. A ceramic pumpkin candle holder with 43,100 ppm of lead.
2. A trick or treat bag and handle with 10,400 ppm of lead
3. A black widow giant spider with 1,641 ppm of lead
4. A garland with pumpkin design with 1,095 ppm of lead
5. A halloween party mask with 495 ppm of lead

“We find that for every item that has excessive lead on it there will be a
comparable item that has low or non-detectable lead content. This only means
that children’s products can be made without added
lead. In fact, we detected no lead in 29 of the 50 samples,” Dizon stated.

“Unfortunately, most of the products on sale are poorly labeled and often has
zero information about their chemical ingredients, thus making it hard for
consumers to make informed non-toxic choices,” he
lamented.

Aside from heavy metals, the EcoWaste Coalition urged consumers to be on the
alert for children’s products that may be laden with phthalate, a toxic
additive to polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic.

As a precaution against exposure to phthalates, which can interfere with the
body’s endocrine system, the EcoWaste Coalition urged consumers to shun toys
made of PVC materials, especially those that
can be ingested, mouthed or sucked.

24 October 2014

To mark the continuing celebration
of the International Lead Poisoning Prevention Week of Action (ILPPWA) and in
commemoration of the United Nations Day today, over one hundred school kids
dressed in vibrant national costumes of UN member states paraded with their
parents and teachers at Barangay Tatalon, Quezon City, to raise public
consciousness about lead hazard and gather support for the elimination of lead
paints in the market.

The activity, a component of the
European Union-assisted Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project, is jointly
organized by the EcoWaste Coalition and ROTCHNA Day Care Center and has “Kids
and Communities for a Lead Safe Future” for its theme, reflecting the shared
aspiration of the participants to protect every child from being exposed to
lead, a toxic brain-damaging chemical.

"We are assembled here today to reach
out to the community folk and spur caring action to deter childhood lead
exposure at home and in school. It is important for parents and teachers to
know what causes lead poisoning and how it can be avoided, so that they can
proactively defend the kids against varied sources of lead exposure such as
through the ingestion and inhalation of lead-contaminated paint chips and
dust,” explained Jeiel Guarino, Communications and Policy
Officer of the EcoWaste Coalition’s Lead Paint Elimination Project.

After the parade, the group gathered
in front of the school to learn more about lead poisoning through instructive
and exciting games, followed by the turn-over of the newly-painted ROTCHNA Day
Care Center, a collaborative project of the EcoWaste Coalition with the
Philippine Association of Paint Manufacturers (PAPM).

"The paint remediation done on
the school’s exteriors, interiors, chairs, tables and cabinets is our voluntary
response to the Quezon City government’s drive to make residents cautious about
the health effects of exposure to lead, especially among our young children who
are vulnerable to such chemical hazard,” said Evelyn Galang, Head Teacher,
ROTCHNA Day Care Center.

The Quezon City Council last August
11 adopted a resolution calling for the observance of the annual “Lead
Poisoning Prevention Week” to “raise awareness on lead poisoning prevention,
particularly from avoidable sources of lead pollution such as lead paints.”

Through the resolution sponsored by
Councilor Dorothy Delarmente, the councilors further “recognized the reduction
of childhood lead exposure as a fundamental goal in public health.”

“We thank the EcoWaste Coalition for
screening our facility for lead paint hazard and the PAPM for providing the
labor and lead safe materials for the repainting work. Hopefully, our
experience will encourage the local government to recognize possible lead
hazards in other school environments and act with urgency to prevent kids from
continually being exposed from the dangers of lead,” added Galang.

Last April, the EcoWaste Coalition
observed chipping paints on the interior walls of the day care center, which
yielded positive for lead upon screening with an x-ray fluorescence (XRF)
device. This prompted the group to partner with PAPM for basic lead paint
remediation for the day care facility.

To further ensure children’s safety
from hazardous lead paint chips and dust, the EcoWaste Coalition advised the
school to keep all coatings in excellent shape, frequently wipe off dust,
regularly wet mop the floors, and ensure that kids always wash their hands
after play and before meals.

In addition, the EcoWaste Coalition
shares the following recommendations for parents to minimize childhood exposure
from household dust:

- Keep the areas where your children
play as dust-free and clean as possible.

- Wash pacifiers and bottles after
they fall on the floor, and keep extra ones handy.

- Clean floors, window frames, window
sills and other surfaces weekly using wet mops, sponges or paper towels and a
general all-purpose cleaner.

- Make sure your child does not chew
on anything covered with lead paint, such as painted window sills or cribs.

According to the World Health
Organization (WHO), “lead poisoning is a serious child health concern
throughout the world. Children are most likely to be exposed to lead from
ingestion of flakes and dust from decaying lead-based paint. This affects
children's brain development and their measurable level of intelligence (IQ).”

Furthermore, the WHO’s report on “Childhood Lead
Poisoning” states that “these effects are untreatable and irreversible because
the human brain has little capacity for repair, causing diminution in brain
function and reduction in achievement that last throughout life.”

Organized worldwide by
the Global Alliance to Eliminate Lead Paint, a joint undertaking by the WHO and
the United Nations Environmental Programme, the ILPPWA also seeks concrete
action and policy support from both national and local governments in the
country to minimize, if not eliminate childhood lead exposure.

The EcoWaste Coalition-led campaign
is part of a seven-country EU-supported Asian Lead Paint Elimination Project by
IPEN, a global civil society network promoting safe chemical policies and
practices to protect human health and the environment.

About Me

is a public interest network of community, church, school, environmental and health groups pursuing sustainable solutions to waste, climate change and chemical issues facing the Philippines and the world.